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Joe Hart has offered a fresh take on one of Manchester City's most explosive controversies — claiming Carlos Tevez was wrongly portrayed as the villain in his infamous row with Roberto Mancini during a Champions League game in 2011.
The incident unfolded during a group-stage clash with Bayern Munich in September of that year, when then-manager Mancini accused Tevez of refusing to come on as a substitute with City trailing 2-0.
The Argentine forward had already been left on the bench in the previous league game and was clearly unhappy, but the fallout stunned the football world.
Mancini told Sky Sports post-match: 'He refused to come on. One player refused to go on – I can't accept this.' The Italian added that Tevez was 'finished' at the club.
Tevez denied flatly refusing to play, insisting: 'I had warmed up and was ready… I wish to state that I never refused to play.'
Despite that, he was suspended, placed on extended leave and did not appear again for the club until March 2012.
Carlos Tevez (bottom right) and Roberto Mancini (centre) famously fell out in Munich in 2011
Their explosive row came on the sidelines during Manchester City's 2-0 loss away at Bayern
Mancini accused Tevez of refusing to come on as a sub and said he was 'finished' at the club
Now, more than a decade later, Hart has reflected on the chaos of that night in Germany — and believes the truth behind the row was more complex than it appeared from the outside.
'The whole drama surrounding Carlos during that Bayern Munich game, I felt was very unfair,' Hart said on BBC podcast Football Daily.
'I think Carlos did make himself available to come on the pitch, but he was asked to warm up, having already warmed up for 20 or 25 minutes, and then he was asked to warm up again to come on. I'm pretty sure he said, "I am warm."
Hart, who was City's No 1 at the time, believes the chaos stemmed from a combustible clash of personalities and poor communication on both sides.
He added: 'Both very, very hostile characters, which was part of why they were both good at what they did, but at that moment it clashed and it didn't work well.
'Mancini was very aggressive, very animated. He had a go at Edin [Dzeko] for some reason. Dzeko didn't really know what was going on, but it was like, "whatever".
'And then he went wild at Carlos. Both in broken English, didn't really understand each other. And I could see Carlos trying to find out what was being said to him. When he realised what had been said to him, he felt really wronged.
'It was a classic case of two alpha males having a different version of the same event and neither being able to say, look, we both need to calm down here and just sort this out — because they were both right to an extent.'
Despite being cast aside, Tevez returned later that season and helped City dramatically secure their first Premier League title in May 2012.
Now 41, Tevez was back in the spotlight at Old Trafford last weekend as he produced a headline-grabbing display at Soccer Aid.
Tevez was banished from the first team by Mancini and forced to train alone at Carrington
Over a decade later, Tevez returned to the spotlight last weekend with four goals at Soccer Aid
Former City team-mate Joe Hart also took part in last weekend's charity game at Old Trafford
The former United and City striker scored four goals in 15 minutes to help the World XI overturn a two-goal deficit and beat England 5-4 in the charity game.
He was loudly booed before he'd even kicked a ball — a reflection of lingering resentment among Manchester United fans after his acrimonious 2009 switch to rivals City.
Tevez, who won six trophies at United including two Premier League titles and the Champions League, famously featured on a 'Welcome to Manchester' billboard after making the move across town.
At Soccer Aid, he revelled in the pantomime villain role — cupping his ear and showing off the back of his shirt after each goal.
He was also booked for cynically dragging down Aaron Lennon late on — with the referee playfully allowing Lennon to show him the yellow card — and clashed with YouTuber Angry Ginge, who was left with a nasty gash on his leg after a crunching collision.
Ginge later posted a photo of the wound on social media with the caption: 'Cheers, Tevez, t***'.
Hart also featured at Soccer Aid last week, starting for the England XI at Old Trafford.
However, he was subbed off at half-time, with all four of Tevez's goals scored past celebrity keeper Paddy McGuinness.
